For Complete Rules and Instructions Read the VJAS Handbook

CATEGORIES

The VJAS provides competition in scientific research for students in grades 7 through 12.  
  • It is very important to make sure that students are not only entered in the proper age-appropriate category but also in the proper subject-appropriate category.  Papers placed in an inappropriate category will be disqualified.
  • In the event there are too few submissions to justify a full category, the VJAS Committee Chair and/or VJAS Director shall have the right to combine and merge similar categories. Sponsors will be notified by email of any category changes.
  • In the event there are enough papers submitted within any category to justify the creation of a new category, the VJAS Committee Chair and/or VJAS Director shall have the right to split the category. For instance, in the Engineering (EGR) category, if there are enough papers related to materials science engineering and engineering design to warrant separate categories, it is the discretion of the VJAS Director and/or VJAS Committee Chair to split this into Engineering - A (design) and Engineering - B (materials science). Sponsors will be notified by email of any category changes.
  • Category codes are used to identify the categories.
  • Projects and investigations may take the form of traditional investigations or may be developed from data sets obtained through various citizen science projects and online databases. Regardless of the ultimate source of the data, papers must be entered into the appropriate category.
  • Citizen science projects data sources must be listed in the non peer reviewed section of literature cited. 

A.  MIDDLE SCHOOL CATEGORIES
  • For Grades 7 and 8 (Grades 9-12 are not eligible to enter these categories.)
  • Category codes are two letters. 
  1. ANIMAL & HUMAN SCIENCES (AH) – The study of all animals and animal life (including humans) and the study of diagnosing, treating, and preventing disease.  This includes the studies of cells, cell processes, and genetics as they pertain to animals (including humans).  This also includes the study of the behavior of animals.  It does not include the study of human behavior (see #5).
  2. CHEMICAL SCIENCE (CS) – The study of matter, its properties, and the changes it undergoes. 
  3. ECOLOGY & EARTH SCIENCES (EE) – The study of the interactions among living and/or non-living components of the environment or the study of the Earth, including geology, oceanography, meteorology, and human impacts. This category does not include astronomy (see #7).
  4. ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY (ET) – The application of scientific, mathematical, and/or engineering principles to achieve a practical result that is of value to human beings and society, such as the design, construction, and/or operation of physical, biological, environmental, or computer-based systems. This includes projects focusing on the relationship between the structure and properties of materials. Place computer science projects here if they involve a) design of new hardware or software, b) testing of the effectiveness of new hardware or software. 
  5. HUMAN BEHAVIOR (HB) – The study of all aspects of the learning and behavior of humans. Projects involving human subjects must have a copy of the appropriate informed consent form in the Materials and Methods section of the paper (see sections IV, V, and VI for further information). ALL middle school and high school students, regardless of age, need a parental signature on the informed consent form. Only individuals 18 and older who are no longer high school students can sign the informed consent form without having a parental signature.
  6. MATHEMATICS: PATTERNS & RELATIONSHIPS (MP) – The study of problems in theoretical (abstract math), applied mathematics (modeling), or the use of graphical displays, statistics, and/or algebra to review, analyze, and draw conclusions from large databases in non-scientific fields, such as business, humanities, government, manufacturing, sports, etc. Projects involving scientific databases should be entered in the appropriate discipline. Place computer science projects here if they involve different mathematical approaches for solving a problem, e.g., generation of random numbers.
  7. PHYSICAL SCIENCE & ASTRONOMY (PA) – The study of nonliving matter and energy and their interaction, either on Earth or throughout the universe. This includes astronomy which is the study of the science of the solar system, stars, galaxies, other heavenly bodies, and space exploration (manned and unmanned). This category does not include chemical science (see #2).
  8. PLANT SCIENCES & MICROBIOLOGY (PM) – The study of plants and plant life and the study of microorganisms.  If the study involves plants with respect to environmental issues, then the project belongs in Ecology and Earth Sciences. This includes the studies of cells, cellular processes, and genetics as they pertain to plants or microorganisms.
B.  HIGH SCHOOL CATEGORIES
  • For Grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 (Grades 7-8 are not eligible to enter these categories.)
  • Category codes are three letters.  
  1. BOTANY (BOT) – The study of plants, plant cells, and plant genetics. This does not include the study of microorganisms, cellular processes, or biochemistry (see #8).
  2. CHEMISTRY (CHM) – The study of the composition, structure, properties, and reactions of matter, especially of atomic and molecular systems. This does not include biochemistry (see #8).
  3. COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY (COM) - Using techniques of computer science and mathematics as they relate to biological systems. This includes the development and application of data-analytical and theoretical methods, mathematical modeling and computational simulation techniques to the study of biological systems. Projects using artificial intelligence must be included in this category.
  4. ENGINEERING (EGR) – The application of scientific, mathematical, and engineering principles to the design, construction, and/or operation of efficient and economical physical, biological, environmental, or computer-based systems. This includes projects focusing on the relationship between the structure and properties of materials. Place computer science projects here if they involve a) design of new hardware or software, b) testing of the effectiveness of new hardware or software. 
  5. ENVIRONMENTAL & EARTH SCIENCE (ENV) – The study of the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere; this includes interactions within and/or among these components as well as the impact of humans. Archaeology and paleontology projects are included in this category. Astronomy projects are not included (see #9).
  6. MATHEMATICS: THEORETICAL & MODELING (MTM) - The study of problems in theoretical (abstract) mathematics or in applied mathematics (use of mathematical models to solve real-world problems). Place computer science projects here if they involve different mathematical approaches for solving a problem, e.g., generation of random numbers.
  7. MEDICINE & HEALTH (MDH) – The study of the various sciences related to structure, function, and diseases of humans and laboratory animals.  Projects using extensive computational methods or deep learning are best represented in the Computational Biology category.
  8. MICROBIOLOGY & CELL BIOLOGY (MCB) – The study of microorganisms and their genetics (bacteria, protozoans, protists, algae, and fungi), cellular processes, and biochemistry.
  9. PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY (PHY) – The study of inanimate matter and energy relationships exclusive of chemical change. This category includes astronomy which is the study of the science of the solar system, stars, galaxies, and space exploration (manned and unmanned). This category does not include chemistry (see #2). 
  10. PSYCHOLOGY (PSY) – The study of all aspects of human thought processes and behavior. Projects involving human subjects must have a copy of the appropriate informed consent form in the Materials and Methods section of the paper (see sections IV, V, and VI for further information). ALL middle school and high school students, regardless of age, need a parental signature on the informed consent form. Only individuals 18 and older who are no longer high school students can sign the informed consent form without having a parental signature.
  11. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS & INFERENCES (SAI) – Using descriptive and inferential statistics to draw conclusions from databases in non-scientific fields, such as business, humanities, government, manufacturing, sports, etc. Projects involving scientific databases should be entered in the appropriate discipline.
  12. ZOOLOGY (ZOO) – The study of vertebrate or invertebrate animals, animal behavior, and animal genetics. This does not include the study of microorganisms, cellular processes, or biochemistry (see #8). This category does not include human behavior (see #10).